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Praise and Reviews
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Fan Mail for Accidental Cowgirl
Hello, Mary Lynn. Just wanted to let you know that I loved your book! I have passed it onto one of my co-worker friends to read now. I will definitely submit your name to the picks list for ABA. Thank you so much for taking the time to send it (twice) – I wanted to let you know I greatly appreciated the opportunity and to thank you for all your trouble. What’s the next book? J
Jenn
Hi Mary Lynn -- Just managed to get to your book and it is good. I am enjoying it completely. It is always fun to read about people and the different adventures they have. I looked it up at ingram but did not see it listed as yet but will keep watching for it. Keep up the good work.
Lynne
Not sure if Lynne responded to this, but I can tell you that we got it in, sold it today and will re-order.
Carolyn
Hello Neighbor! I just finished your beautiful book with tears in my eyes. Thank you for writing such a great memoir. I admire your strength and fortitude, especially being up there alone. How wonderful that you lived along side nature and her splendor! Keep up the good work! I will be looking forward to the next book.
Kris
Thanks so much for the copy of your book! (And the really great bookmarks) It is quite wonderful. My dilemma is: wanting to devour it right now, all in one sitting vs. taking it in tiny bite by tiny bite. But....whichever wins out, it definitely will be a book I will go back to time and time again. Perhaps it is because of the connection I feel with it, and with you both. It is a book to be treasured, and savoured, and shared. I will be ordering more from you, for sure! Thank you, too, for the sweet inscription. I've read a couple of the chapters, and thinking I might save the rest for my visit to Wisc. But, don't think I can last that long! I don't think words can fully convey what a gift Twin Creeks Ranch was to me -- as well as your and Carl's continued friendship. You captured it beautifully in your chapter "Dust Never Sleeps"; but the full personal impact is still unfolding for me! Take care.
Love, Jeri XXOO
Finished it. Wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us.
I didn't realize any of this was going on as I guess I was so busy
practicing law.
You two are such troopers - not allergic to work.
Bless you.
What a wonderful read.
A friend of mine who is reading your book wondered if you had read The Egg and I before you bought. She says your book is a riot.
I loved your book.
OMG.
You are a such a compelling writer.
Kathleen
Hiya,
…I enjoyed the hell out of the book and will post (a review) from the library.
Rob
Hi MaryLynn
Very belated note to tell you how much I enjoyed seeing you and - continuing our conversation in a way - reading your book...What fun, what everything!!! I enjoyed your journey and could make it sans the grit and grime...
As a sidebar to your story, I particularly enjoyed the historical parts - My family is from up there...Some relatives a ways back were involved in a duel near Willits....my family, the Coates against the Frosts....the Frost being southerners and Coates with the Union continued the fight long after the war was over...and relatives were either born in or lived in Blocksburg, Burnt Ranch...still not much a metropolis there. My relatives that came west came to "work in the woods" in the 1880s. For a while I was a member of the Humboldt Historical Society.
Hope this holiday season finds you and yours healthy, busy, happy...If you come down this way, would love keep talking and show you my spread...
Joyce
Dear Mary Lynn,
Thanks for sending me the postcard announcing your Book last fall.
I ordered it at Levin & Co. on the Plaza as a Christmas present for myself!
It was a joy to read.
Your charming asides:
'I made small talk (my specialty)' pg 28
'Tim and his dog Rocky into my little Rocky (no relation)' pg 101 'Tired
just thinking about what we must accomplish before the actual respite
begins ' pg107
'Hogtied him on the ground. Don't try this at home'. pg 203
…and many others made me smile.
Those of us who moved from City Life to Country (we did it 32 years ago)
can understand what you two did, but your challenges were greater and
more happily undertaken it seemed.
I would love it if you would autograph my copy of the book when you come out to visit the garden again. It will become part of my collection of
humor books.
Hope to see you this spring!
Jan
Mary Lynn,
Thought I'd drop you a short note to tell you how much I enjoyed your book. It was a great read. It made me wish I'd had a chance to visit you at the ranch. I still chuckle when I think of Carl standing naked on the deck trying to teach the dog to bark at the cows.
I appreciated the parts where you shared your reflections on your life.
My only criticism is that was too short. I finished it in two days, and it left me wanting more.
Herb Sutter
Dear Ms. Archibald:
Thank you for sending me your book. I read it the other night. A number of writers--me, too--have taken the same perspective on their immersions into the countryside, including Michael Korda, Jeanne Laskas and Laura Cunningham. Ignorance leads to being a dope, which leads to self-deprecating humor and irony...and eventually some level of competence and self-knowledge.” Sounds like the wine country is a better fit all things considered than Zenia. Cows get out everywhere, incidentally. Urban transplants are not special targets.
Best wishes, Curtis
Hi
I just finished reading your book and saw that you had an email address and took a chance that it might still be active. My mom sent me your book in an envelope with some magazines. I didn't even know it was there until a few months later I was going through it and saw it. I wanted you to know that I enjoyed reading about your journey on your ranch. There are many isolated places still in Northern California -- places that seem like another world. You captured your "other world" so well. Thank you.
I live in Willow Creek - with the huge iconic statue of Bigfoot so I feel like I live pretty close to where your ranch is.
I will be passing your book on to others that I know will enjoy it. I hope you and Carl are enjoying your new home.
Hi again,
I spoke to my mom today and asked her where she purchased your book. Turns out, she met you at Ralph's in Healdsburg in November (maybe October). Anyway, she and her husband were there having lunch and were sitting in a booth next to you and your friend and overheard you guys talking about a book. I guess she must have eavesdropped and asked about the book. Afterwards, they went to the local bookstore there and purchased the book. After she read it she sent it on to me, knowing that I would enjoy it too. She lives in Kelseyville and they drop in to Ralph's about once a year! Funny how stuff like that happens.
Hi Mary Lynn,
I just finished Accidental Cowgirl, and I have to tell you, you're a fabulous storyteller! You had me crying at the end when you described leaving the ranch. I savored reading this book, since it was so darned good.
I hope to have the review done in about a week.
Best regards,
Alice
Note: Alice’s review appeared on her website: http://bergersbookreviews.blogspot.com
Dear Ms. Archibald,
I just finished "Accidental Cowgirl." I couldn't resist the urge to tell you how much I enjoyed it--every page. BRAVO!!!
I sincerely enjoyed your book and read it slowly, savoring it! Met you at the literary cafe and bought your book there. I almost bought property up north and looked as far as Alder Creek. Ended up buying a house on the river, Almond Way in Healdsburg, because I Kayak. I used to live a few houses down from Ken and Sarah in Forestville! Small world. I am writing a book on World War II women ferry pilots.
I was really hoping to see you so I could thank you for writing the "Accidental Cowgirl..." I'm just past the middle and am loving every page. For me, this is more than just an interesting story, it's a breakthrough. It's been about 15 years since I have read a book that wasn't about beads or some sort of art or craft. Before that time, ever since I learned to read, I always had a book handy that I was actively reading. (OK, when I was very young, it might have been Tom and Jerry comic books, but I moved on to Nancy Drew.)
Now I have hope that I may be able to start reading some real books and I'm just delighted with that prospect. I really miss reading. When I see one of my passengers diving into a novel, I am so envious.
I had your book with me when I had a manicure on Wed. The co-owner of the shop asked me if I like reading and asked me about the book. She wants to start a book club and has invited me to join. She certainly wouldn't have started that conversation if I had "Bead and Button" tucked under my arm.
I wanted to be sure to let you know how excited I am about your book. Can't wait to get back to it, but I don't want it to end.
My son gave me a copy of The Accidental Cowgirl for my birthday last week. I am really enjoying the read, particularly since I grew up in Eureka and lived in Santa Rosa for several years. I know the location of all the places in your book, except I have never heard of or been to Zenia.
I wanted to write to tell you, so that you'd have it in writing, how much I enjoyed your book, Accidental Cowgirl. It was a wonderful romp, a reminder of where unbridled enthusiasm can land, and more than that, it was a love story of two people who loved each other, their neighbors, and the land.
Hello Marylynn
I just finished reading Accidental Cowgirl.
I was moved to tears at the end, and loved every word up to that point.
I loved how the book went from memoir to funny chapters about the people
who were your neighbors to the history of the area and then the leaving of the ranch.
I'm going to cry all over again.
And then the poetry and the poem about Snazzy ...oh my.
Thank you for such a wonderful read.
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